happy holidays!

I am counting down the minutes until the Krieg Christmas Festivities kick off tonight with the arrival of my gorgeous and hard-working sister, BUT in the meantime, I thought I'd share my favorites of the current moment:

For gift wrapping:

 

Target black and white polka dot paper, Paper Source red satin ribbon,

Paper Source black card stock, and a silver paint pen

I've ALWAYS loved making presents pretty come holiday time.

So much so that when I was little I opened my own Present Wrapping Shop in my grandpa's back office wrapping all my relative's goodies while my brother and sister were off swimming in the pool or building sandcastles on the beach.

This year, I forced myself to wrap back in SF pre-trip so as to not lose suntime over the feat.   Well - only an hour or two while snipping gift tags and tying ribbon. 

For (last-minute) gift giving:

My parents recently received the most delicious holiday gift I have ever laid my lips on: a Stonewall Kitchen gift basket chocked full of delectable jams, amazing mustards, mouth-watering dressings, divine breakfast fixings, savory mixes, and decadent chocolates.  They loved the treats SO much that they decided to do mini-versions for the final few on their gift list.

For eating:

While we're on the subject of Stonewall, let me tell you what items you CANNOT live without trying:

I am a mustard fiend (more on that later) BUT this little guy is among the best.

And this dressing makes any green dazzling.

But better than these choice condiments is the to-die-for dinner my brother and mom made for us last night.

Lemon Chicken

Scalloped Tomatoes

 

Garlic-Roasted Cauliflower

The final product:

All recipes courtesy of the fabulous Ina Garten

For your mind:

This is FASCINATING.

Courtesy of my smart and curious little brother.

And this is lovely.

Courtesy of the brilliant Laura Marie of little things and curiosities.

For going:

Where I'll be with my Swiss soldier and his family next week.

I could not be more excited!

Speaking of which:

Isn't he just adorable in this get-up?

It's a tad bit colder there than here.

And just for fun:

Merry christmas and happy holidays!

I'll be back next week with lots of stories on the happenings here.

xoxo

KK